I have the greatest privilege of being associated with Native cultures of many continents.. thus satisfying my curiosity and desire to travel and the chance to help them with my medical expertise. these notes are from those travels. I am a professor at the University of Havana

jeudi 30 septembre 2010

It is raining heavily here, but that does not stop one from searching for good food which is so readily available here in Vietnam. someone in Europe asked me, is vietnamese food similar to Chinese food, if you think it is, at least it looks like it has been cooked by a French chef..

dimanche 26 septembre 2010

Bertrand Russell: “there is far too much work done in the world...immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous.”These are ruminations, pardon the pun, of a Foodie.. or a wannabee Foodie at least..in fact the title of this blog should beEATING YOUR WAY TO SEE YOUR FRIENDS AND MEET KHMER KROM SEPT 2010I have noticed that Food or planning/thinking about Food gives me as much as planning the journeys in which I hope to consume these Food. I was aware of this preoccupation, when a colleague requested my presence at a conference one month hence, I replied: where could we have lunch afterwards?My blogs always mention something or other about food, friends who made that food available to me and places and countries where good food is not easily available (such as United States of America or Namibia)I am writing this blog on board Lufthansa Flight 683 Miami to Frankfurt, a 747-400 a beautiful aircraft to be a passenger in.. seat 83 K ( check seat guru.com for the location and configuration of this seat!)Louis de Sacy Champagne, France of couse. I have not heard about this brand, nor seen this rather unattractive bottle in any of the shops. But we begin our 40 hour journey with this fizzy "amber fluid" (monks, right?)8 hours and 12 minutes to FRA. 3 47 pm leave the Gate and take off at 4 15 across the landscape of Miami that I can recognize easily into a formation of clouds which obscure clear views of the Bay and the Beach..This is the menu for today's dinnerCaviar with the traditional garnishesI shall skip the seasonal salad.. it fills up my Asian stomach, small I suppose, so that I cant do justice to the main meal, which isZuchini wrapped Halibut, sweet potato, Bok Choy, Shitake MushroomsShall I have a cheese plate or indulge in some sweets? Brie/herbed goat/morbier/gruyere and Roquefort with grapesthey offered Sherry, also Campari was on order but after a drop of the sherry I went back to another glass of Champagne. A fruity flavour, little bitter for my taste, the sherry La Guita..watching a documentary on MEKONG river in China.. Red lipped Yunnan Golden Monekys among them.. ( do you know any other animal with red lips?). on my previous flight on LH, which was on August 15, from KUL via BKK to FRA, I saw another episode of Mekong River, this time filmed in Cambodia, it was lovely to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins, who lives in a pod near Kratie.Asparagus with cream sauce to whet your apetite.Facts you might be interested inMekong begins its long journey at Zadoi, in the Tibetan Plateau, where the Nomads live on and with their YaksYak Milk has 7 % FAt whereas the Cow's Milk has only 4%Excellent Documentary, made by Discovery Channel.Now to enjoy some japanese musci videos. 5 30 pm in MIA 11 30 pm in my part of Europe.not that goodSwitch to Arab Music Videos. There is somethign that runs so common in veins.. jews and arabs.. the food and the music are examples of that. My brother E and I are both fans of Mizrachi music and ME/Arab Food...Lebanon or Algerie.. it is okay with us..The main course was just delicious.. It is created by the Chefs working at Ritz Carlton hotels in the USA.A glass of south african White2009 IsabeauAllee Bleue, Franschhoek, Western Cape, RSAAyman Zbib singing his heart away..Changed my mind about the dessertChocolate Molten Cake, vanilla bean icecream and marinated Berriesto acoompany that taste, a drop of2009 Krug'scher Hof, Eiswein, Menger Krug, Deutschland.Because of my newly found love for China, let me watch some music videos from ChinaAll singers had christian names, such as Eason or Will or Nancy.. reminded me of the aping of the western culture in Singapour and Malaysia..Eason Chan?a bit of a disappointment, just old fashioned rock music, circa 1960/70, with no innovation, no originality, imitates US and Japanese Pop.. and failing at it. What next?while waiting for the dessert... how about Tamoul VideoClips..at least we know that they are masters of imitation, claiming no originality! ( more than 50 % of the Bollywood music are plagiarized from wherever.. the other day i was listening to Rachid Taha singing a song and soon the scene switches to a bollywood scene where they are singing the exact same tune in Hindustani!)and in the tamoul videos, the moves are area almost always the same, slightly chubby boys and girls trying to imitate Michael Jackson with their gyrations.. but it is in their innocence of the things western which they are aping that I find great pleasure in..It is time for dessert.. watching Tamoul video clips and thinking our tamoul brothers in Malaysia..I have never met a Tamoul who could gyrate in this fashion!Nespresso! what else!made into Capuccino.. viola!1AM the blanket has arrived, it is a little bit of sleep4 55 AM European Time, woken up with a glass of freshly squeezed Orange Juice. Hot TowelFlat Bed. Too few hours in between meals to sleepIt is already time for BreakfastOn the offer yoghurt with granola, no to this onehow about, freshly prepared scrambled eggs with a bit of salman on topIt was 6 33 AM when the flight touched down at Frankfurt.

A Nice Flight ...Now a long wait for my next flight.. more pictures to come..

samedi 25 septembre 2010

it never ceases to amaze me the luck I have with Continental Airlines! I am writing this in Miami having just arrived here on CO 190 a 737-500, safely transported in seat 1 A. The chief flight attendant was extremely attentive and caring, with a tinge of Jamaican accent to her neutral non american accent! when I left the aircraft, I was the first one to do so, she wished me a good day, addressing me by my name!Buoyed by this and the fact that arrival in Miami always excites me, even after so many hundreds of times of being here..My bag, a recent acquisition about six months ago, hard material, red in colour to easily identify. But i was disappointed to see, the corners of the luggage dented and in one corner there was definitely a tear..One word about luggage handling in the USA in general and Miami in particular. It seems that the hired hands are venting their anger and frustration at this exploitative system of work by punishing the bags. This is not the first time a luggage of mine has had similar fate in Miami and the only time my luggage was pilfered with was in Miami, one of those charter flights to Cuba!I waited for the busy attendant at the luggage area, and she said, give me a few minutes i would be with you. I thought to myself, there would be forms to fill out and then they would send me a 25 dollar travel certificate some times in the future. I already planned to go to TJ Maxx and buy a luggage before my 3 45 pm departure tomorrow to Mekong Delta...I presented my Platinum Card and very soon we realized that we had so many friends from Continental Airlines Miami Ticket counter in common. She looked at my luggage now sitting there with a torn shoulder, and disappeared into the offices behind. I didnt know what she was doing, nor did I realize when she appeared with a brand new Delsey luggage ... would this do? she asked and even then i was not sure what was happening.. suddenly i realized, continental airlines is giving me a brand new bag for the damage done to my fairly new luggage..I was elated and glad to be free of shopping in the morning.. I shall spend the extra time with my sister...I am sure she will prepare me some ackee and saltfish for breakfast... before my flight to Frankfurt on LH.PSWhile i am extremely lucky in my travel with, counter agents at airports, flight attendants, coustomer service managers and the frequent flier programme reward givers, i am extremely unlucky with the choice of my fellow travellers. Today at seat 1 B was an older woman with a hardback copy of Daniele Steele ordering a vodka tonic even before the flight took off. Needless to say, I did not befriend her.Continental Airlines has upgraded me on my flight to Europe tomorrow, seat 83 K on a 747 400 belonging to Lufthansa.. Muito Obrigado.

vendredi 24 septembre 2010

Each time I leave the Indian Country, I say to myself, this has been a good visit. I am fortunate that I have been saying this for many years. At times, before a journey to the Indian Country, the difficulty in getting here is a little bit distracting; flight from Paris to a point in the USA and then after a wait of some hours, to an airport which is 100 miles south of here, stay at a hotel nearby, rent a car and leave the next day..This visit has been excellent. I checked 654 Indian Children for a marking called Acanthosis Nigricans.. I must have checked more Indian children for this marking than any one else.. and the Clinic where I participated in the care of the Indian patients with Diabetes was nothing short of wonderful, the clinic staff being very considerate and the patients rewarding us with getting better.When I sent this photo to a friend of mine in Shanxi in China, she wrote.. if you forget the wooden house, the picture could have been taken in China, ah well, even the dog looks like the one in my village..TomorrowContinental Airlines to Houston and change planes to Miami, will arrive at my sisters home at around midnight...Thanks once again, dear friends at the Indian Country..

samedi 18 septembre 2010

Now that the High Holydays are nearly Over.. time to come back to the pastime of planning trips..So far in September:Miami to ParisParis to MiamiMiami to the Indians, that is where I am now.Back to Miami and then a long tripMiami to Kuala Lumpur with stops in Frankfurt and Bangkok, leave Miami at 3 45 pm on saturday and arrive KL on Monday at 6 15 pm.Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi MinhMekong Delta and a town called Soc TrangBack to Kuala Lumpur for a nice MakanKuala Lumpur to Paris vis Hong KongTentative for NovemberParis to Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh back to Kuala Lumpur via Phnom PenhKuala Lumpur to Los Angeles and then Miami and then on to the IndiansBack to ParisIn December perhaps, Paris to Miami to Havana and then back to the Indians and back to Parisas you can see my life revolves around Paris Havana Miami Os Indios and Kuala Lumpur in Asia..This time of the year I always wonder where would I be at the end of the year?QuiberonPondicheryMeridaCochinTokyo in the last few years.. Let us see where the winds take me this year!

vendredi 17 septembre 2010

Feel very content on this erev Yom Kippur even though I am far away from many of the people who are important to me and also to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.. but I am with Los Indios.. wish all of you my friends, jewish or not, pro israeli or not, a wonderful year to come, may you find happiness in what you are doing and love and peace and tranquility in your lives..I am at the Reservation of the UmonHon Indians. It is Erev Yom Kippur. I have lit the candles. Hummous and Pita are ready. A glass of Sauvignon Blanc from Australia. Thinking of all those who have contributed to my contendment of a year well spent, the new arrivals and the new sweeties in our lives and miracles and the enlightenments.I am grateful for the people who were stars in my skies, for circumstances that allowed me to travel from my three fixed points in this universe: Paris for emotions without end; Los Indios for the Connection to the Universe and Havana for that interminable affection and tenderness to other points in the compass: Kuala Lumpur and the ever hospitable Yong sisters with their vast open hearts... their hearts were my home in Asia.. memorable experiences in Myanmar.. My other fixed point and the miracle of the year was certainly my dear sister Jackie in Miami, USA.let us make space for those who love us in rage and jasmines.. those who leave us, let them take their kisses to that cemetery of affections... those whose bodies were never to return to our arms, will have our tenderness murmured in their ears at some river or another...in the end, my dear friends and lovers, what is left is just ourselves, that particular person who inhabits your body, keeps you company, who says good night to us like an old door, standing like a bridegroom with his grin when we are moody...but i am busy today, like a man possessed of dreams, bringing them in my eyes as if I had only my eyelashes to answer their questions...I am happy to have lived this past year with its abundance, with its miracles, a year of soul and smoke, new smiles that will never again will pass my way, like those comets, such an granary of affections stretching from one ocean to the next.I am thinking at this moment, in this quiet and solitude of an Indian reservation, on this holiest and most sacred of days for the Jewish People, of all those who matter to me... Chaungtha. Melbourne. Quiberon. Kuala Lumpur. La Habana. Baracoa,Haifa, Copenhague, Portland so on and so forth...May all your dreams be inscribed in the book of the gifts of the universe, I only want one gift from the Universe, that I be allowed to spend a little time with you in the coming year of 5771..Shalom and Lehitraot...

mardi 14 septembre 2010

We all want to be Happy.. is it a sensation of feeling High? a sense of contendment? the rush of acquiring material goods? Are Rich people happier than the Poor? if that were the case, there would have been a whole heap of unhappy people in this world.. which is not the case.. as travelers around the world can attest.there are no one single social factor that would increase or decrease your happiness.. Neither Americans nor the French are well noted for great overall happiness.. americans have poor health care system and the french the best, so it is important that we look into a conglomeration of factors and also individualize them.. The oppressed, marginalized, indigenous people, poor as they are living surrounded by their rich compatriots in USA Canada Australia New Zealand are some of the happiest people I have encountered in my travels. Poverty we dont mind, said an Native elder, but it is the misery we dont like..ah well there is a wealth of research into happiness.. multiple lists of happy countries, many of which are in Europe and the Caribbean.. Japan as you guessed is not on that list...cities which are happy.. Portland, Oregon in the USA makes the grade, so does Munich, Copenhagen.. you will understand why Singapour didnt make the list...Having lived or visited some of the happiest countries on earth, I am going to give you Dr Yehuda's three rules. Please if you find the same rules somewhere else, please dont sue me for forgery or plagiary or whatever.. Happiness is not a trademark, posessed by a select few...(1) Be Happy with what you have, dont be unhappy with what you dont have. I should put a reference here to my note about my friend Pierre Merrick, an UmonHon Indian who taught me this very long time ago. ( I will add the link to my blog on Pierre Merrick here later.(2) Swami Sivananda sends out a daily message and this past week his messages have all been on Education, meaningful education.While the globalized world, from Myanmar to Mozambique, is after MBAs, jobs with higher salaries, even if it means tucking beds in Dubai, stressful relationships because of lack of time, with your knowledge gotten from twitter or Fox News or CNN and not from analysis... these are sure paths to unhappiness.. Let not the number of letters behind your name, give you a false sense of security, my feeling is that you are trying to hide behind those letters... MD MBA PHD DBA FRACP and what not... if you need to put degrees behind you, just put ONE...Instead of the above, go after accumulating LIFE EXPERIENCES than a bank account. Like the Green Book of Travel during the Segregation days, the new segregated travelers look for off the path experiences and cultural learning journeys, but they want to do it cheap and the fastest fashion. In Cochin, I heard a pale tourist very loudly enquire: can I do the Backwaters tour this morning and this afternoon I would like an Ayurvedic Massage and then i want to take the night bus to save money.. ah well, that is just like collecting stamps.. to say you have them..Try to lead a Qualitative life and not a Quantitative life..Not How much? How many? but how was that? How many friends did you spend time with? Give the Gift of time to your friends and loved ones, you will receive good quality time as a gift as well..The Greatest Gift Givers are those give that which they can barely afford to give. The greatest among them is my best friend in Asia who is chinese, living in KL. Serendipitously we met in Siem Reap and since then we have developed a very close friendship. I have travelled to KL at least ten times to see her, the recent one being just after her arrival from three months in Yoga/India.. I want to make sure that she would have no difficulty of being detribalized from her contemporaries hell bent on their accounting manifestos and other materialistic accoutrements...and that she can fit into her own world there, she can do it by herself, but what is wrong with a little bit of help. why did i do that? did i not have anything else to do in Paris or Havana? I will tell you, each and every time I have visited KL in the last two years, more than about ten times, she has taken time off from work (she ran a finance section for a prominent media company), so that in 2009, her entire annual leave was devoted to making sure that my stays in Asia were comfortable...She is a genuine giver, who gives of herself to an extreme extent and soon her circle would encompass the world with very good people all over the world attracted to it... I am just so happy to be one of them..She laughs loud, she gives, she takes care of others and she is happy.(3)In Singapour a group of MBA students (dont expect young asians to be studying Anthropology! in Asia, especially the chinese dominated Singapour).. after my lecture asked me: can you tell us how to be happy?American Indians, these oppressed, some of the last of the colonized peoplein the world, have been so generous to me in my years of associaton with them. Much of my knowledge about how to enjoy what is offered to you in this world comes from them.They said: dont try to be a good doctor, try to be a good human being, then you would become a good doctor. Pursue Meaning in your life. not that materialistic ideals nor nebulous concepts such as Happiness, which comes from within like a fountain, with no necessity to search..Not what am I? A doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, an anthropologistbut who am I? a friend, a husband,a lover, a father.Here for me, a Jew, the connection to the history of my people, the connection to the land of Israel and the undeniable connection to the nationhood of my people come in. that influences very much the answer to the question Who are you? As that master of laughter, Dalai lama woud say: "Spirituality, in my view, consists of transforming the mind. The best way to transform it is to get it used to thinking in a more altruistic way. So ethics is the basis for a secular spirtuality for every one, one that is not limited to a group of believers in one religion or another" (from his Memoir, My Spiritual Journey, October 2010).Regarding living ethically, may I kindl suggest you read my previous post: i am not responsible.American Indians living close to their culture, despite being surrounded by outsiders to their culture who do not respect them, lead a meaningful life despite the reality of suffering, discrimination and poverty.I was feeling particularly that morning, this sunday past, as I left Miami to go to the reservation of the UmonHon Indians..good quality news,one after another had arrived in the past weeks from France, from USA, from Cayman Island, from KL... all qualitative..The news that truly lifted my spirits out of my body to a "high" was the news of self realization of a friend of mine, ML who wrote to me after a retreat in YogYakarta...Be a part of some one else's self realizationAs Lizbeth S, my close friend during my Melbourne days used to say:Your role is to try and bring your friends closer to their dreams....

jeudi 9 septembre 2010

A LOVELY NEW YEAR GIFT FROM EL COMMANDANTE, FIDEL CASTRO RUZ.Fidel to Ahmadinejad: 'Stop Slandering the Jews'

He said the Iranian government should understand the consequences of theological anti-Semitism. "This went on for maybe two thousand years," he said. "I don't think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews. I would say much more than the Muslims. They have been slandered much more than the Muslims because they are blamed and slandered for everything. No one blames the Muslims for anything." The Iranian government should understand that the Jews "were expelled from their land, persecuted and mistreated all over the world, as the ones who killed God. In my judgment here's what happened to them: Reverse selection. What's reverse selection? Over 2,000 years they were subjected to terrible persecution and then to the pogroms. One might have assumed that they would have disappeared; I think their culture and religion kept them together as a nation." He continued: "The Jews have lived an existence that is much harder than ours. There is nothing that compares to the Holocaust." I asked him if he would tell Ahmadinejad what he was telling me. "I am saying this so you can communicate it," he answered.http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/09/fidel-to-ahmadinejad-stop-slandering-the-jews/62566/

I have repeatedly heard in Havana, how the government is not anti Jewish but just anti Israeli. In fact if I remember correctly Cuba was one of the first nations to recognize Israel and the first and perhaps the only ambassador Cuba ever had in Jerusalem was Mr. Lobo (Spanish for Wolf), a tycoon who was pro Castro. Mr. Lobo spent his own money to build the Cuban Embassy in Israel, I was told. In my years of living in Cuba, I must say I have never encountered any form of anti Semitism and in fact there is a great admiration for the Jews and their contributions to the Cuban culture including Literature (Kozer etc). Like in many other countries, there is a near total lack of understanding about the Jewish people. Even the professor of religion at the University of Havana asked me: How can you call yourself Jewish, when you are not religious at all. I had to point out the fact that the Jewish People are the least religious of any group, in that nearly 85 % of the Jews do not attend synagogues on a regular basis, if that is a measure. Where as the figure for Catholics in the USA it is about 40 or 50 %. On this 1st day of Tishrei 5771, I am in Paris, getting ready for my next trip, I feel very content at the interview Fidel gave Mr. Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine.One other thing, I want to say: even though the Cuban Government is very anti American, the Cuban people couldn't be any further from that. There is a healthy love for USA in Cuba.

Those who are interested in the life stoy of Julio Lobo, the following book is highly recommended. The reviewers have applauded the author for his impartial treatment of life before the revolution, mr Lobo’s fascination with Napoleon which has resulted in the Napoleonic Museum near the University of Havana. There is a lot written about Mr Lobo at one time the richest man in Cuba and who controlled most of the sugar export from the island and controlled many sugar mills and also acres and acres of land in all parts of cuba. He left Cuba when Fidel nationalized his mills. He lived to be 84 and died in Madrid.

mardi 7 septembre 2010

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLEI am around people who are self made in the business world, junior executives, partners, lawyers, accountant chiefs, and absolutely dislike their collective aim that bottom line is Money.Once sitting next to a passenger who spent the entire Madrid to New York flight in Business Class typing away at his computer and was told that he was in Valencia for one week and had no time to leave the hotel and conference room. Another time was asked by a lady, again in the Business First section of Continental Airlines flight to Europe: where do you get time to read? I have not read a book in years, as if it is a badge of honour.Somewhere or other I have heard this. Why don't these people, buy themselves a plot in the cemetery and lie down for death to arrive. They are already dead, the event would occur later on.The following are some of sentences that I absolutely DETESTI am very busy; I have no time.I am not responsible (for anything that happens in the society you live in) (all Nazi criminals at the Nuremberg trials said: I am not responsible. Who was responsible for using newborn infants for football practice?)I have no time, and then I have no time to learn or read, I have no time to help another person, I have no time to pay attention to my soulAnd you say to yourself, why should I do all these anyway, I am already dead, waiting for that cask?I am never impressed with material gifts and in fact I see Gifts in society as a form of binding each other to some social mores. I have never seen this tribal behaviour (read the first and one of the first field workers in Anthropology Malinowski and his book on Tobriand Islanders), in France than anywhere else. The gifts are already prescribed, what and when and where and how, the brands and the price selected out and the equality of the gift to suit your social class… this form of gift giving is one without a soul rendering of a part of yourself. To me, the gifts given by the girls of chaungtha beach, which they treasured for some time, saved up their money or time making it, is more priceless. I ask people not to give me Christmas presents and hide my birthday so that I wont be burdened with presents. Don't get me wrong I am not a stingy man who does not want to spend money like in the classic tale of Yule, but the pleasure is in the spontaneity, the time spent in choosing the gift and most of all the best gift is the gift of time. People spending time with me, a friend of mine very close to my heart, takes time of her busy schedule when I visit her country, because as she says: if you have taken time off to travel to my country, the least I can do is to take time off to be with you!I also remember a young doctor asking me, we never meet any one interesting. I asked her, do you think any interesting person would like to meet you?You have to be an interesting person to attract other interesting personsHow do you become an interesting person? When you have time, devote it to become an interesting person. When you don't have time, you don't have time to become an interesting personTo become an interesting person, you have to do interesting things when you have time and preferably when you are young.The social plight of the Cambodians living in Vietnam attracts my attention, where as you may say it is not my problem. The students I teach Medicine, are often bored when I tell them who was the person who described Graves Disease or Addison’s Disease or Crohn's Disease or many other interesting events in the grand profession we have chosen. That does not help me become a better doctor said one. I have one right handy to answer, one Indian told me that only good people will become good doctors and it is not the education that makes you become a good doctor.This can be applied to lawyers and account executives and all others who have no human touch in their profession. I would rather enjoy watching a lady selling baguettes in a French bakery than watching an account executive on her Blackberry in New York!To be a whole, you have to be socially responsible. That is what the Indians have taught me. It is not an either or question. You can be an account executive and be a socially responsible person. The metaphor for a predatory executive in business or profession (including Doctors) who says he donates money to his favourite charity and that he supports street children of Addis Ababa or has a foster child in Guatemala (things to make your conscience feel better), that metaphor is thus.A drug dealer in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, kills, maims, and makes widows and orphans without a squint in his eyes but claims that he is running a day care centre or a home for the elderly. That is good but does not dissolve him of his primary social injustice, that he is committing himself to make the society worse than before. Each of us, accountant or not, CEO or otherwise, lawyer or doctor, should ask ourselves, is my work such that it does not contribute to the betterment of the society. You may think you are not contributing to the worsening of the social conditions just by not doing anything but your work would involve some actions against diversity, transparency. Should you transfer your on call services to India to a call centre where there is one suicide a month? Are you responsible? Should you deal with people who try not to pay taxes? Is it good for the society to do that?We are all in it together, whether doctors or judges or money counters or garbage collectors, of economic filth and emotional scarring.

This note is dedicated to my friend Cissa de A of Rio de Janeiro, BrasilHappy Independence Day Brasil 7 Sept 1822

Day 1 Lunch at CITRUS, at Bangsar. Nouvelle cuisine Pakistanaise. Dinner at JANBO Chinese owned, whose wife is australian who has become very malaysianized! Friends order the multiple foods for you.Day 2 Chinese Restaurant on the side of the road, Chinatown, once again Friends take care of the orders as it happens at Demaw a popular chinese restaurant for dinnerDay 3 The worst food of the week was at this tamoul resto, at Maulana Food Court at Seri Kembangan. Flew Air Asia that afternoon, Nasi Lemak served on board. Dinner was in Yangon, Myanmar, through pouring rain, managed to find, Feel 3, the peculiar chinese maynamar style food.Day 4 Breakfast at Panorama Hotel, greeted by some visiting businessmen from Malaysia. During lunchtime we were on the road to Chaungtha, stopping at the popular eating place where buses stop, the quality of food certainly has diminished from the last time. At Dinner time, in Myanmar, it is safer to eat Chinese Myanmar style since they are freshly prepared, as we did at a resto in Chaungtha Beach.Day 5 Breakfast at the beach at Hotel Lai Lai. Lunch was freshly prepared fried fish with vegetables which was brought to the hotel room. Dinner was a dinner party catered by the driver and his family for 12 people where i was able to say my Shabbat Greetings.Day 6 Nice to sit watching the sea while having breakfast at Lai Lai Hotel. Chinese noodles at Pathein township and a chinese myanmar style lunch at Pantanow town, in a freshly appointed resto, whose owner has a guest house at Chaungtha Beach as well. Nasi Lemak was served on the flight to KL from YangonDay 7 Lunch at the delicious Oversea Restoran and Dinner was equally good at Hai Lai Ton where a chinese wedding banquet was also being held. Day 8 an upscale nouveau cuisine mixed asiatique at Delicious at Mid Valley Mall and as a party gesture, a Roti Canai from a slim tamoul girl at Food Court in KLIA.Malaysia never fails to meet my expectations when it comes to food. It has the best chinese food on a daily basis (of course you will need the help of a local chinese friend) in South East Asia...On to Seat 4 D Lufthansa flight to Paris via bangkok and Frankfurt...

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Welcome to Cuba, Welcome to My World and Yours as well

Ever since I was a child, I have lived in two countries at a time and the countries changed: Brunei, Australia, Sweden, USA, England, Jamaica, various places in the USA..Now Cuba and USA with a definite commitment to the North American Indians (Los Indios)..

For a period, 2001-2014, there were numerous visits to Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar.Hope you enjoy reading my emotional outpourings, written on the road.. from a lover of Cuban Mind and Affections inside the island and the innocence of the Indigenous peoples..

We live with great expectation that the new rapprochement with the Govt of President Obama, will bring more changes, intellectual and cross cultural contacts and a broadening of the minds on both sides of the Straits.

I highly recommend that you come to visit CUBA now..

Qui êtes-vous ?

Ever since being a Medical Student and Trainee Doctor in Melbourne, London and Miami, I have been involved in Interantional Medicine . Currently I am associated with the excellent Peer to Peer Network for Diabetes care in Cambodia, Mo Po Tsyo, www.mopotsyo.org.
Also with the help of my good friends in Bogor, Indonesia we hope to do something similar but in a much smaller scale.
It is easy to tell you what I am: an Endocrinologist and a Medical Anthropologist, engaged in both fields.
Cuba, Miami and American Indians are the worlds that usually I rotate around. in the occident and Cambodia and Indonesia in the orient.